AlittleBetter.net

Post by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo courtesy of Pipitdapo

Today officially kicks off the Holiday Season. This is the season that is regarded as both one of the happiest times of the year, and as one of the most stressful. So this year I’d like to lay out some ground rules to make the holidays a little less stressful and a lot more fun.

Call a Cease Fire If there is someone in your family that you normally fight with this is not the time to fight with them. If you feel the need to get something out, than write it down, and save it for after the holidays. (more…)

Post by Justin Dixon Photo courtesy of Kchbrown

The scientific method has a few basic steps we are all familiar with. Research, make an educated guess, try something to find out, and than record the results. The thing is that in our own lives most of us leave out a step.  We research, we make our “educated” guess, and than we assume the results.

Imagine where we would be if this is how the world functioned? What technology would there be? What discovery would there be? How would we move past the dark ages where any new idea was punished as heresy or witchcraft? Simply said we wouldn’t.

Now most of us are not going to argue that a scientist should try an experiment before writing down there results. An engine should be tested before it is claimed that it runs. Yet in our own lives it is much more common for us to make predictions about what is going to happen and than hold them as fact. Today I want to challenge that. For joy, for inner-peace, for the sake of moving forward, we must challenge this. (more…)

This Post by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo Courtesy of notsogoodphotography

This post is dedicated to someone who I can only hope will get to read it.

It was my last year of high school, and you were asking people of all different grades, to write a poem about what their life was like. You said that you were looking for something free-verse, and that you wanted to put these poems in a book for others to read. You made me promise that I would do something with my poem.

Mrs. Laura Skinner, one of the great teachers that has had a powerful impact on my life, this post is dedicated to you. Here is that poem: (more…)

This Post by Justin Dixo Follow me on Twitter Photo courtesy of Bhav Bhav

There is a large body of advice when it comes to careers, what is smart to do in life and what is not. There are also two classes of advice when it comes to following your passions. Some say that following a creative passion is likely to bankrupt you, others say that following something that you are passionate about is the absolute best way to go.

So who has the best advice? The best way to narrow this down is to look at who has the best results. If someone is miserable at their job, do not take their advice for where to work. If they really knew a better way they would act on it. The fact is that the successful people I’ve studied are people that pursue their passions.  But I want to take this a step further, I say that those who follow their passions are not only more successful people, but they become better human beings.

Ayn Rand set a standard that we must do the work we love, in a standard that we can be proud of. Richard St. John who has been a writer, a public speaker, and a successful entrepreneur followed eight principles to his success, the first of them being passion. He was asked while on his way to a TED conference how people become successful. He than dedicated the next few years, to learning these things. You can view his results here (link opens to new window). In regards to passion, on his study, it became the number one thing that he listed. So what is it that makes passionate people more successful, and why do I say they become better human beings? (more…)

Post by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo courtesy of Photomish Dan

First let me start by telling you what this article is not. This is not about telling you to become a libertarian. This is not about what political party you vote for. This is not about condemning the evils of communism. What this is about is a group of people and a philosophy that have had a positive impact on my life, and that I wanted to share a little bit with you.

Libertarianism gets a bad reputation in the media, partially because libertarians have controversial ideas, partially because there are few points that all libertarians agree on, but mostly because there are some strange apples in this bunch. In all the craziness and weirdness that can be found in a group of libertarians though there is an underlying philosophy that everyone no matter their political beliefs can benefit from. (more…)

Post by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo Courtesy of Tiago Ribeiro

Confidence is a major key to many aspects of our lives. It can be applied to happiness in the way it frees us from many internal struggles. It can help us in our work lives.  A confident person is more likely to be hired than somebody who is not confident. It can help us in our dating lives; confidence is a very attractive feature.

And with so many great things linked to confidence its no wonder so many people try to give off the impression. There are tells though. Here’s how to tell real confidence apart from faked confidence. (more…)

This post by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo Courtesy of Joshua Hoffman Photography

A little while ago a friend from twitter, @Bpraveenreddy, asked me what the one thing I wish I had learned earlier in my life was. The answer took me about a week to come up with, and it surprised even myself. I wish I had known that if a large group of people have a certain impression of you, than you are doing something to give those people that impression.

For a long time I didn’t think much of going through any effort to make people see me for who I am. After all it wouldn’t change who I really was. I used this as sort of a filter, anyone who would not come to like me was  not worth my time. The problem came however in that I wasn’t demonstrating who I was. I thought that by not worrying about presentation things would be more honest, and in reality I just ended up confusing people. At the same time I was closing myself off from opportunities that could have made a difference in my life. I didn’t realize that there was not really a way to not present something. Even my attitude of not caring what other people thought was a kind of presentation.

So here are the times that how you present yourself really counts.

• It counts when you want people to see you for who you are.
• It counts when you want to be respected.
• It counts when you want to move forward in your career.
• It counts when you are looking to open new opportunities.

So how do you pull it off? (more…)

Post by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo courtesy of Notsogoodphotography

It has been said that there comes a time in every child’s life when  they must set childish things aside, but who sets the standard for what is childish and what is not? Every parent who I have asked about the most inspiring thing in their lives I have gotten an answer related to their children.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” – Picasso

So maybe its time we re-examine what it means to be childish. Maybe its time to pull our old toys out, or more importantly our old dreams.

So lets play a game. Now every good game needs rules. After all if the kid from the down the street keeps making up super powers every time we’re about to win, the game won’t be much fun. Ready? here we go. (more…)

Post by Justin Dixon Follow me on Twitter Photo courtesy of Tiago Ribeiro

“What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.”~Henry David Thoreau

I have a very clear memory of me looking into the mirror and thinking “what a worm”. I couldn’t put my finger on why that particular day I had decided to feel like a loser,and than it hit me. Even if there a good reason (there wasn’t) feeling like that would not help me do anything about it. It would not help me, it would not change my view, it would not do anything positive. It was a useless way to feel. I decided then that whenever I caught myself feeling like that I would take action before resigning.

Things that make us feel like a loser ares:

• Regret
• Not following through
• Lacking a sense of purpose
• Feeling Powerless
• Being in bad health
• Feeling like you don’t have enough
• Keeping negative relationships
• Trying to control too much

So what can we do about each of these points? (more…)